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Chapter 302: Chapter 302 Another heartbeat
Lucas stared at the screen, his eyes wide, filled with confusion. The words on the display were unfamiliar, and he couldn’t make sense of any of them.
His heart pounded in his chest, panic slowly bubbling up inside him. He bit his lip, trying to stay calm as he recalled how Kyra always seemed to handle the screen so easily. Maybe if he did it the way she did, he could figure it out too.
Carefully, he scanned the options:
[Start]
[Theme]
[Design Custom Theme]
[Leave]
His finger hovered uncertainly before he pressed the ’Start’ option. The moment he did, a robotic voice echoed through the air.
[System started. Please check options below.]
The sudden sound startled him, and he nearly jumped in place. His eyes darted back to the screen, where more words appeared:
[Menu]
[Home]
[Setting]
[Back]
[Check for available updates]
He had no idea what any of it meant. His mind raced, but nothing made sense.
Damon, standing nearby, noticed the tension in Lucas’s face and his own worry deepened.
Oceanus, who had been quietly observing, now stared at the screen, surprise flashing across his face. He glanced over at Simon, whose expression mirrored his shock. Neither of them had expected this.
What is this..thing?
The thing seemed otherworldly, something straight out of a novel. None of them had encountered anything like it.
With uncertainty, Lucas selected the ’Back’ option, only to have the same screen pop up again. He bit his lip in frustration, then decided to try another path. His hand hesitated before finally poking at the ’Themes’ option. Relief washed over him as he saw a list of familiar options, and his eyes lit up when he spotted his favorite.
➤ Sci-Fi Haven
Quickly, he selected it and turned on space capsule in open space nearby.
Glancing around, Lucas exhaled. "Let’s carry Kyra inside," he said to Damon, his voice tense but worried. He then turned to Oceanus, his gaze pleading. "Please." 𝓷ℴ𝓋𝓅𝓊𝒷.𝒸𝓸𝓶
Without wasting any time, Damon hurried inside, worry etched on his face. Lucas followed closely behind, his mind racing, while Oceanus and Simon trailed after them.
Damon laid Kyra gently on the bed, his movements careful but hurried. Oceanus followed closely behind, the strange thing forgotten for the moment. His eyes briefly flickered with surprise, but his focus quickly shifted to Kyra. She looked frail, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Yet, he held back from voicing his thoughts until he could confirm them.
He knelt beside the bed and gently took hold of Kyra’s wrist, closing his eyes. Oceanus had always had a deep connection to the body, an innate understanding of how each bone, joint, and organ worked together. He could sense the subtle rhythm of a person’s heartbeat and tell much from their pulse and skin tone.
Kyra’s heartbeat was there—weak but steady. Then he paused. He felt something else.
Another heartbeat.
His eyes snapped open, and he sat back abruptly, his expression darkening with realization. Lucas and Damon both noticed the sudden shift, tension mounting in the room. Oceanus lowered his head toward Kyra’s stomach, his mind racing.
"What are you doing?" Lucas shouted, stepping forward, his body tense. Damon looked equally alarmed, his stance shifting as if preparing for a fight.
Oceanus raised a calming hand toward them, his face still serious. Simon, who had been silent until now, intervened quickly. "Please, Lucas, Damon, don’t panic. If Boss is acting like this, he must have noticed something important."
Oceanus leaned closer, placing his head gently on Kyra’s abdomen, his turquoise eyes glowing with a mix of concentration and emotions he hadn’t expected. He focused, listening carefully to the faint but distinct second heartbeat.
After what felt like an eternity, he lifted his head and turned toward Lucas and Damon, his face solemn, but his lips slowly forming a tight line.
Damon’s heart was racing, his mind spiraling with worry. Lucas, equally tense, stared at Oceanus with desperate eyes, waiting for an answer.
Then, Oceanus finally spoke, a smile tugging at his lips. "Congratulations! Your mate is pregnant."
"Ky-Ky is pregnant... I’m going to be a d-daddy?" Lucas stammered, disbelief coloring his voice. The last time he had been with Kyra intimately, he hadn’t expected this.
Oceanus gave him a lazy smile, raising an eyebrow. "Stepdaddy," he corrected, his tone playful. "The child in her stomach isn’t yours. It’s an egg."
Lucas blinked, his mind trying to catch up. "Okay..." he muttered, feeling a strange numbness wash over him.
Ky-Ky was pregnant. He was going to be a stepdad.
Then it hit him. Kyra and Vince’s baby. Oh my god. He felt a wave of excitement and happiness overwhelm him. Sure, he had hoped for a wolf cub, but the idea of a snake cub didn’t bother him. He could manage that too.
Without warning, Lucas jumped up, unable to contain his joy. "THANK YOU, OCEAN!" he shouted, planting a quick kiss on Oceanus’s cheek and shoving him out of the way. He rushed to Kyra’s side, his body trembling with shock and happiness as he sat beside her, taking in the reality of the moment.
Lucas sat beside Kyra, caressing her head with a soft, foolish smile on his face, his heart still brimming with disbelief and happiness.
Damon, standing nearby, glanced at Kyra’s stomach before heading to the bathroom. He retrieved one of her towels from the wardrobe and wet it. As he returned, he found Lucas gently running his fingers through Kyra’s hair, his affection evident.
"Let me clean her," Damon said quietly, his voice filled with care. Lucas nodded and moved aside, allowing him space.
Damon knelt beside Kyra and began to softly wipe the blood and dirt from her face. His movements were tender, each stroke slow and deliberate, as though afraid to hurt her. The concern in his eyes was unmistakable, his focus solely on making her comfortable.
"Let’s explore this strange place," Oceanus said lazily, leaning back against Simon, who gave a silent nod of agreement.
As he relaxed, Oceanus glanced at Kyra’s face, now wiped clean by Damon. His eyes lingered for a moment.
She was so beautiful.
Unreal, almost.
Breathtaking.
